Big Idea - What is the first thing you do when you achieve your greatest goals? A while back, there was a Super Bowl campaign that asked players, "You are the Champions, what are you going to do next?" And the famous reply, "I am going to Disney World!" In other words, you have finally made it, you achieved your ultimate goal, so now you are living a different kind of life, the life of a champion, so what are you going to do with it?" This is precisely what is happening in chapter five of Joshua. It is as if someone is asking them, "God just brought you into the Promised Land, you have made it! What are you going to do next?" But the answer is not "I am going to Disney World!" But it is very significant to see what they did first when they finally made it! The first thing you do when you finally accomplish your greatest goals and achievements is significant. The people of Israel have entered into a whole new reality; you could say they have entered into a new life. And the question is, what are you going to do with it? This is very relevant for us, because the entire message of the Gospel is that we have been saved from death and have been given new life in Christ. We now live in a completely new reality, a very different kind of life. So what are you going to do with it?
The first thing God commands Joshua to do is to circumcise all the males in Israel. That is no Disney Land! The reason this was necessary was that the entire generation born in the wilderness had not been circumcised. Circumcision was given as the sign or mark of the covenant. They were to be physically marked with this sign that they had entered into a covenant relationship with God. But what was it a sign of? It was a sign that they belonged to God; they were His own people and possession. Therefore, they were to love him, trust Him, and serve Him with their whole heart. So, circumcision was an outward sign of an inward reality - a heart that was not stubborn and hard, but one that was tender and obedient. So, why hadn't they done this before? Why wait until they enter the Promised Land? Shouldn't it have been a requirement to enter? The great lesson here is that God brought them into the Land apart from anything they had done or could do; it was all by grace. Entering into the new life was entirely a work of God by His hand alone. But, the result of entering into this new life is that for the first time, it is possible to live the life of obedience God had called them to. This was impossible when they were wandering in the wilderness, but now that they have come home, they can do all that God commanded them to do. That was the great purpose of the Promised Land! Living the life of holiness and obedience that God had called them to was impossible when they were captives and foreigners. But now that they are home, they can live a very different kind of life. We are marked by a sign, not of circumcision but Baptism. It is not something we do to be saved, but it is a mark of what God has done to save us and bring us into a covenant relationship with Him. But the sign only means something if it is an outward mark of an inward reality - a heart that loves, trusts, and serves God because He has given us new life!
The second thing they do is to celebrate the Passover. In God's perfect timing and plan, He brought them into the Promised Land at the exact time to observe Passover, which was to be observed on the fourteenth day of the first month. This is not just a coincidence; it is God's design to show the vital link between His saving work of bringing them out of Egypt and His saving work of bringing them into the Promised Land. They were saved from God's judgment resulting in death by shedding the blood of a lamb and painting the blood on their doorpost. The result of being spared from death and judgment was that, first, they were set free from slavery in Egypt, but it was just the beginning. The following significant result of this saving work was that they entered into a new life with God. This was supposed to be a smooth and uninterrupted progression - saved from death, set free from slavery, and entering into their new life of worship and service to God. But the process was derailed by their lack of faith, leading to disobedience and God's discipline. They went on a 38-year detour while God disciplined them for their lack of faith. But discipline is not judgment; it is God's way of training us and growing us up in faith. God did not reject them, and He never stopped caring for them, as we see in the provision of manna for all the years of wandering in the wilderness. But God's care in times of discipline is not the same as the blessing of the new life! Now that they have entered the new life He had promised all along, the blessings flow, and the temporary provision stops. God's saving work is to bring us out of death, out of slavery to sin, and into new life with Christ. It is on the one hand all a work of God by the blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb. But it also requires faith on our part. The failure of faith will result in a significant detour, the discipline of God. How many times are we wandering in the wilderness, coming short of walking in the new life and all its blessings, because we do not believe God and His faithfulness to keep all His promises! We think the manna is His blessing, and rest content in His care and feel that is enough. We must never be content with that! God has so much more if we will only come to Him full of faith to enter into the new life and all its blessings!
But what is this new life? We have talked a lot about the blessings of this new life, but what exactly are they? We want the blessings of the new life to be a better life, as we define it —or as the world defines it. A life of wealth, comfort, ease, and peace. But this is not real blessing. These things are only cheap counterfeits of something much greater! Joshua learns about this life through his encounter with the commander of the Lord's army. He sees a stranger holding a sword, a soldier, and Joshua wants to know whose team he is on. But, he replies that he is not on either team, but he is the commander of the Lord's army. The word commander is one who is the top-ranking commander of the army, but not the king. He serves God, who is The King, and he is not on anyone's side, because God does not take sides. The real question is who is on His side! He is not on our team, but He invites us to be on His team! He si here to carry out the will of God, not the will of men. But, it is God's purpose and will to conquer the land of Canaan and all its kings and give it to Israel. Joshua bows in submission and worship to this superior one, as we should all do. We bow before God and surrender to His plan, not ask God to accomplish our will! The commander responds to Joshua, "I have come." Which means, I am here to go before you and conquer, but even more, I am here to walk with you in every battle! Who is this commander? Is it an angel or is it the Angel of the Lord, that is God in the person of Christ? There is debate, but what is essential for our purposes is that it is One worthy of worship, but less than the King. It is God, but not God on the throne. It is not God in heaven but God with us. I believe it is a picture of the Holy Spirit, who is not the king on the throne (Jesus) but one who comes in all His authority and who brings His very presence into our lives. This is what the blessing of the new life is, ultimately - living life in the very direct presence of God! The land was a blessing, but only because it made life in God's presence possible. How could the land do this? The answer is in the next phrase - "Take off your shoes for you are on holy ground." God is holy, meaning there is nothing common, ordinary, or earthly about Him. His being is on another plane, one of perfection, transcendence, and infinite glory. He is above us in every way and infinitely greater than us. He created us for fellowship with Him, to be His friends who walk with Him as brothers, but sin has ruined all of that. We are now unholy, corrupt, sinful, and in every way unworthy of being in His presence. His holiness is a fire that would consume us completely because of our sin. But here we see that God has come, and His presence makes all the land where His foot treads, holy ground. To this day, it is called the holy land, the land where the very presence of God dwells. Joshua was to remove his sandals. It is a picture of entering into the presence of God and His holiness, by casting off all that is of this world and contaminated by sin. OF course, taking off your shoes could not make you truly holy, but it was a picture of what Jesus alone could do for us. We have been made holy by the blood of Jesus. And we are to make ourselves holy by putting off the old, putting off sin, and putting on the righteousness of Christ. This is what it means to live the new life, a life of all the blessings of God. The blessing is God himself; it is life as the friend of God! Not because we have brought God down to our earthly level but because God has raised us up into His holy temple, where we can walk with Him in the deep fellowship of love, worship, and service!